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Wednesday, 18 August 2010

The busiest 3 hours in my week

I am beginning to really dread Tuesday afternoons. You see, while I work on both Mondays and Tuesdays, I am the 'it' girl for pick-ups on Tuesday afternoons.

The Geege manages the drop-offs and pick-ups on Mondays and the Tuesday morning drop offs, but it is up to me to get all the kids on Tuesdays.

The three youngest go to daycare.

My oldest goes to After School Care.

It is such a struggle.

I finish work by 1630 (I start before 0800). I live approximately a 30 minute train ride from work, with a 10-15 minute walk from my workplace to the train station and a 5 minute walk from the train to my car. There is also a 5-10 minute drive from my car to the Daycare. Add all of that up and I am on the move for just about an hour.

I have to collect the kids from Daycare by 1745 (at the latest) to be able to pick up Nugget from After School Care by 1800. There is no option for lateness. They close and go home.

From the minute I switch my computer off at work, I am racing. Racing towards the train station. Racing onto the train (hoping like mad that I don't miss the 1645 or I have to wait 12 minutes for the next one and it all falls apart). Racing off the train to my car. Racing through the traffic to the Daycare. Racing to strap in 3 deliriously happy but overtired kids into the car (after experiencing the only joy amongst all the racing, the squeal of three kids saying "Mummy" with bright eyes when I open the daycare door). Racing through the traffic to the school. Racing with the three kids in tow across the school grounds to the After School Care. Racing to sign Nugget out before the dreaded 6pm.

I take a small sigh at that point (and silently clap myself on the back for 'making it on time'.)

But my self-congratulations is short-lived, because it then begins again.

We race home. I slap some dinner on the kids' plates (usually left-overs from the night before). Wrestle with them to eat their dinner (see here how that usually goes). Complete the nightly production line of bathing, getting dressed for bed, reading bedtime stories and getting them into bed by 1930.

Another 1.5 hours of racing.

It is exhausting.

There is little wonder that I dread Tuesday afternoons, don't you think?

7 comments:

My mornings used to be like that! It's hard to just relax and let go when you've got to run around and all these time deadlines to meet. For me, childcare opened at 6.30am, my train was 6.37am, I had to be at work by 7am. Miss that train, I'll be 20 minutes late to work.

Annoyingly, my house was right between the childcare and train station - so I had to walk AWAY from the train station to get to childcare, and then sprint from childcare to the train station. Five mornings a week. It took exactly 7 minutes, because that train would always be pulling into the station just as I got there! Every morning was stressful.

That sounds quite miserable. I don't blame you for hating it! I feel like some of my afternoons are like that but I only have one child to wrestle. By the time I get home, lug everything inside, put everything where it belongs, cook dinner, serve dinner, play with Lily in between, wash dishes, eat, bath time, story time, bed time...and then the hubby walks through the door to a plate of warm food and once had the nerve to as me "why are you in such a bad mood?!" Let me tell you he got an earful!